The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-04-12

| that he was innocent, but hnaily ad-
mitted that he had large lot o. stolen
property at his home, and told now the
goods had come into his possession
His confession, it is said, will convict
| thirteen crews.
To Joseph Rice, the special agent OF
the PENNSYLVANIA Railway Company
| and Detective Gilkeson, OF this city. is
dine ALL the credit Of running the thieves
! down In an interview with Rice this
afternoon, the following account of the
inception of the robberies, their detec
tion the 7aofqts operdndi of their execu-
ton ETC., Mr.. Rice said: 1.-TWO years
| ago we decided TO dispense with the
locks on the cars. and introduced our
| present system of seals. The seal is of
| lead, is about the size of Scent piece,
and is about one eighth of an inch in
thickness. The wire used in connec-
ton With it is one-sixteenth of an inch
iron wire. There are curls in it to pre-
vent its being pulled through the lead
seal. The method of using it is as fol-
lows: The wire is pressed through the
seal. through the hasp of the Car doors,
then backed through the seal again,
forming an unbroken circle. AN in
strument then isused in impressing the
stamps upon the inverse side the letters
"pg. IT," and upon the diverse side
''P. st. L." thus indicating that the
car is intact when it enters the P, G. IL
ST. L. Railway bound westward. The
two wires are imbedded on the same
stroke as letters are imprinted. This
understood. will give an idea Of the
inception of the robbery and its dis
covery by the officials Of the road. The
eastern bound trains were not molested,
western bound trains being the sufferers.
As near as we can estimate 1t, these
robberies have been going on for two
years. At first, there was timidlty,
and they only occurred at long inter
walls, then daily growing holder
aud more general until Dust
lately every tram was sufferer.
We were puzzled long time by the
robberies, as one of our reports from
western points Showed that the seals
were always seemingly intact. For a
long time we blamed the extraction of
goods upon the roustabouts at Piers 81
and % in New York, and Dock Street
station at Philadelphia. as nearly all of
our western-bound freight was put in
the cars at either one or the other of
these three places. We employed de-
tectives, and all imaginable devices, and
found finally that our employees at
these places were beyond suspicion. AS
am in charge of all the crookedness
on our road east of Pittsburg. it then
became my duty to follow the robbers
up to this city. After most eXhaus-
tive search OF the entire division OF the
Pennsylvania road up to Plttsburg,
came to the conclusion that the rob
cd IF
burg. We then devoted ourselves en-
After two months work, we
found that the robberies were
committed between Pittsburg aud Deni-
son; That out of eighty crews. seventy
five were practicing gigantic scheme
of robbery. We were badly stalled at
first by the fact that the seals on the
cars were gen orally found intact when
the cars reached Columbus, on their
way westward. We then commenced
the system of espionage on every mile
of siding between here and Denison.
Day and night the watch continued.
Meanwhile, marked and decoy goods
were used. We found that local
freight was generally untouched;
that the robberies were commit
ted on Union Line shipments.
Well and good. One dark night one OF
our brightest men stumbled against the
mystery Of the seals and the method by
which they we're successfully tempered
with. Concealed behind car. he saw
a crew come to Union Line car. The
wire was pulled out of the seal, the
door was thrown back and the car en-
tered. In short time the men emerged
carrying lot of plumber. They made
off to the caboose and the conductor
ran a wire through the seal where it
had been pulled out, and with board
struck blow. The wire went
back to its place. The blow
united the soft lead again without de-
stroying the lettering on either side,
and the seal was apparently untouched.
1 saw one of these and it was only by
the closest scrutiny that q person could
detect signs of tampering with 1t. All
this made clear, our course was much
easier. The individuals of these crews
were then each of them tracked down.
and may say here that so closely were
the stolen goods located, that out OF all
the arrests we made last night, and since,
there was not one but had stolen
stuff either on him or in his room. OF
course you understand that our meth
DDS used in ascertaining all this cannot
be made public. Suffice it to say. that
We have our hands on every thief en-
ploye, and we are in easy reach OF those
who are not arrested. When | say we,
l mean. of course, Mr.. Gilkeson, first,
as to him belongs the exclusive credit OF
the rich haul that filled the drag net.
can give few illustrations of the spirit
of these employees. In one case just
lately pursuit was so hot that twenty
Ave boxes of fine cigars were
hastily burned in the caboose stove; IN
another case tip" resulted in two
bolts of Gne silk being thrown from the
caboose into the aMCnongsbelA River,
while crossing the Pan Handle bridge;
in smother instance the crew broke
open the car and found it full of
organs. One of the men, enraged by
finding nothing of steaIable kind,
thrust, an iron bar into an organ and
ruined it. We have evidence that the
freight conductor broke into a car,
opened piano and sat and played it
ali night, stopping at midnight to
eat supper off the polished top.
The same fellow was humping a
piano in dive, last night. when cap
tuTed. Another brakeman, who lives
on Wiley Avenue. stole bolt of cloth,
had suit made for himself, and gave
l. e L, -,